


Act Four, Scene 16

by LowkeyScrupious



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, Draco is a good dad, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Malfoy Family Feels, Panic Attacks, Post CC, but not too much hopefully, filler scene, pov Scorpius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 19:12:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16225511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LowkeyScrupious/pseuds/LowkeyScrupious
Summary: A lil' extra scene about what happens with Scorpius and Draco after they revolve off stage :)In the show, Draco hands Scorpius Delphi's wand once she has been defeated, and I always wondered what happened to Scorpius when he realised he still had it in his pocket. So this is my guess.Also. For the purposes of this story, we aren't addressing what happens to Delphi at all 😂





	Act Four, Scene 16

**Author's Note:**

> There's brief descriptions of a panic attack so heads up :)

No one spoke. No one was capable of saying anything. All Scorpius could hear as he hid his face in his father’s chest was Harry Potter’s agonised cries and moans, which seemed to go on for a very long time. He wasn’t sure how long they stood like that, frozen on the path in Godric’s Hollow. It felt like an infinity. Eventually, as if from a great distance, he heard comforting words being spoken by Ginny and Albus.  
Albus. Scorpius hoped he was okay. He wanted to check, to see for himself that Albus was still there, only a few steps away, but he realised that for right now, all he could do was focus on himself. He wasn’t really capable of moving, frozen against his father as he was, even if he’d wanted to. Instead, he just carried on clinging to his dad, eyes squeezed shut as if he could block out the world.  
At the feel of his father’s hand rubbing his back, Scorpius knew it was safe to open his eyes. He didn’t want to - he was sure for a moment he’d be assaulted once more with another blinding flash of green, but when he hesitantly opened them, none came. Instead, he just saw a huddle of three figures on the ground – Harry, still struggling to regain composure, Albus, looking like he was struggling just as hard to say something that would comfort his distraught father, and between them, Ginny, holding the family together. She was crouched down, half hugging both her husband and son. Beyond them, Scorpius saw Ron and Hermione looking at each other cautiously. He could almost read Hermione’s thought process; _what do we do now?_  
It was Ginny who answered the unspoken question. “Hermione, we need to get home”.  
Scorpius looked up at his dad. How on earth were they planning to do that? Then he remembered the Time Turner his dad had explained about and knew if he was forced to recall any more information at this point he might just pass out. It had been a very long day.  
Hermione hurried over to Ginny, eager to reassure the family, and called out to Draco.  
“Draco, the time turner please…”  
“Of course...”  
Releasing his vice-like grip on his dad’s robes, Scorpius watched as his father pulled out the glistening golden device. Draco put an arm back around him as they hurried over to where the others were huddled, Scorpius’s eyes immediately seeking Albus.  
His best friend in the whole world looked shaken, but otherwise okay. Scorpius crouched down beside him, throwing his arms round the person he was pretty sure he’d never want to let go of.  
“Are you okay Albus?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he realised how stupid they were. Pulling away, he searched for reassurance in Albus’s eyes.  
“Yeah mate. You?”  
He didn’t find the comfort he wanted in the creased lines of Albus’s face. Scorpius just nodded at him, not trusting himself to answer the question without crying.  
The adults took a few moments to organise where exactly they were returning to, and the exact time of day in the present, but Scorpius wasn’t listening. He was concentrating on the feel of Albus’s hoodie in his hands, and Draco’s hand on his shoulder behind him.  
Finally Ron, Hermione, Ginny and his dad seemed to have made a decision, because the next thing he became aware of was his father’s voice telling him to brace, before the sickening disorientation of time travel overwhelmed him. He was well accustomed to it by now of course, but he recalled reading somewhere that the more times someone uses a time turner (particularly in a short span of time), the more likely it was for side effects and other negative consequences to occur to the traveller. He couldn’t quite bring himself to care about that right now though.  
Suddenly as it had started, the sensation ended, and Scorpius found himself in the exact same position on the same crumbling street, just 39 years later. It was raining, and the middle of the day. He squinted a little as his eyes took in the new light.  
The party of seven all paused in amazement to take in the surroundings. _Weird_ wasn’t the word for it, Scorpius thought as he gazed upon the same building he’d just been standing in front of almost four decades ago. It looked exactly the same as they’d just left it, save a few things. The withered beams still stood proud, the horrific blast through the upper bedroom still showing off the contents, but instead of Lily Potter’s dead body, there now lay just leaves and twigs that had been blown in from the blustery autumn weather. It seemed to Scorpius that the only thing that was different was the flowers, which were gone from the front porch, long since dead.  
Hermione broke the silence. “Come on, let’s get everyone home.”  
Instinctively Scorpius moved even closer to Albus, and thankfully his father seemed to have noticed, for he didn’t say anything when Hermione told the group she was apparating them back to the Potters’.  
Well before he was ready, Scorpius was once more lurched unpleasantly somewhere far away, only this time he didn’t really care where he ended up, because he was with his dad and his best friend, and they were at least in the right timeline. That was enough, for now.  
The rough stone of the road in Godric’s Hollow was replaced with soft warm carpet.  
“Harry!”  
It was Teddy’s voice, he’d clearly been there waiting for them. Scorpius looked up to see the familiar surroundings of the Potter family’s living room. He watched as Albus got up slowly and left Harry in Ginny’s capable hands, retreating to the sofa a short distance away and removing himself from the action. Scorpius switched off listening to the adults and was content just to follow and sit with Albus. As he relaxed back next to his best friend, it hit Scorpius how suddenly, overwhelmingly tired he was. He was warm, he was safe, Albus was there, and he hadn’t slept properly in 36 hours. Before he was even aware of it, his eyes were closing, and he was leaning into Albus far more than he would have done on any other ordinary, non-perilous day of the week.  
His dad must have noticed, because before he’d had a chance to fully fall asleep Draco was in front of him, telling him in a low voice that they’d better get home.  
Blinking slowly, Scorpius frowned. He didn’t want to go home. He couldn’t, he needed to be with Albus right now. Panicking, he struggled to find the words to explain this to his dad.  
“Home? Dad, no… I want to be here…”  
“Scorpius.” It wasn’t unkind, but there was an authority in his father’s voice he always had to obey. “This family is grieving. We need to let them be. And you look about ready to faint.”  
Scorpius turned to look at Albus, but Albus looked just as dazed as he felt.  
“Come back tomorrow,” his best friend said anxiously.  
They locked eye contact for a moment, and something passed between them. Then the moment was broken.  
“Right.” Reluctantly, Scorpius got up and followed his dad to the fireplace. The last thing he wanted to do right now was travel by floo (even more so leave Albus), but he swallowed his discomfort and held on to his dad as they spun towards Malfoy Manor.  
Perhaps he’d overestimated how much more stimulation his body could take, because as soon as the fireplace spat him out he fell forwards onto the cold kitchen floor of Malfoy Manor and retched. His dad was instantly behind him, apologising for the journey, though they both knew there was nothing he could have done. Luckily, nothing came up as Scorpius realised he hadn’t eaten in… well he couldn’t remember the last time. Dinner at Hogwarts before Delphi had kidnapped them? That seemed like a lifetime ago. Wiping a shaking hand over his mouth, he let out a small laugh.  
“Scorpius? What is it?” His dad sounded concerned.  
“It’s nothing. I just realised the last time I ate was an alternate timeline ago.”  
Draco made a small “hmff” noise and helped his son to his feet. “Scorpius,” his tone of voice sounded very serious, and Scorpius internally sighed in anticipation, “I know you’re tired, and obviously need to rest, but before I let you go I would really appreciate it if you could explain in more detail what happened.”  
Scorpius frowned. “You know what happened. You were there.” He really wasn’t following.  
“Yes, I was there in Godric’s Hollow,” his dad continued patiently, guiding Scorpius to the kitchen table and indicating he should take a seat. “But what happened before then? You said Delphi took you and Albus back to 1994 to prevent Cedric winning the Tournament. But we need the whole story. The Ministry will want to know.” There was an urgency to Draco’s voice that Scorpius couldn’t comprehend.  
He took off his jacket slowly but didn’t sit. The last thing he wanted was to explain in exact detail everything that had happened to him in the past week. Possibly longer, he wasn’t sure anymore. “Dad…” he began pleadingly.  
His dad looked him in the eyes. “Please, Son. Aside from the Ministry, _I_ need to know what happened.”  
Scorpius appraised his father, trying to judge whether his need for information outweighed his own desperate need for sleep.  
But at that moment, Draco reached out a hand, and the unexpected gesture caught Scorpius off guard. He couldn’t stop himself flinching away – it was like he was watching it happen, powerless to stop himself.  
The look on his father’s face was one of the worst things he’d seen that day, and that was saying something.  
Scorpius turned away instantly, unable to watch the pain on his dad’s face a moment longer.  
“I’m sorry dad, I just need to sleep…” he mumbled, feeling the now familiar sense of bile rising in his throat as he tore from the kitchen and practically sprinted to his bedroom. He needed to get out of there. His breath was catching, he could feel the tears welling up behind his eyes, but they only added to his sense of panic. He needed to be alone, he was unable to bare anything else today. Not one more single thing.  
Reaching his room, he paused only to slam the door shut behind him before flinging himself onto his bed still fully dressed, and sobbed until sleep took him.

* * *

 

He woke up slowly, and very disorientated. It took him a moment to realise where he was, even though his own bedroom should have been the place he’d be able to recognise immediately. The sun was streaming in through the window, warming his legs, so it must be late afternoon. Sitting up, he pulled a blanket off himself that he didn’t remember going to bed with and wiped the wetness that he was surprised to still find in his eyes. His shoes had been removed, which only added to his confusion. His brain was working very slowly, as if it knew the horrors it had experienced and didn’t want to face them again.  
He tried to go over what had happened yesterday. That was a problem in itself, he couldn’t even define yesterday. From the last time he slept then. He’d woken up in Godric’s Hollow with Albus on the morning of the 31st October 1981, as they spent the night waiting outside the church for their parents to arrive. It had been bitterly cold, and he’d been starving, but he’d had Albus. They were in this together, whether the blanket plan would bring their parents to them or not. They hadn’t spoken much that morning; sleeping rough combined with the ever-present fear that at any point they could be discovered and killed by Delphi, made for a very subdued atmosphere as they waited with impossible hopes for rescue.  
And then, when their parents _had_ shown up, Scorpius could hardly believe it. It was too good to be true, and for a funny moment he wondered whether he was dreaming. The sight of his dad running towards him quickly grounded him though. At some point he’d suddenly become aware that Albus had ran to greet his mum, and was currently embraced in a huge, motherly hug, and before he realised it, Scorpius had caught himself, aware that his own dad probably wouldn’t appreciate a hug with the level of ferocity Scorpius had got planned. It was the first time he’d seen his father since Delphi had tortured him, and all he wanted to do was hug the life out of his dad. But then to his complete surprise Draco reciprocated the awkward, longing look Scorpius was sure he’d been giving him, and they’d had the most passionate but awkward hug Scorpius had ever experienced. Scorpius smiled at the memory. Even now, trying to figure out everything that happened, that one happy moment shone through and made him feel warm inside.  
They’d spent the day scheming and waiting for Delphi to arrive, before Ginny had the epiphany that they needed to lure her there themselves, so there had been some time for him and Albus to explain what had happened since Delphi overpowered them in the owlery. That had not been a fun conversation, listening to Albus tell them how they’d been used.  
He’d deliberately not looked at his dad when Albus hesitated before plunging in and telling them about his torture. It seemed so long ago he’d been standing in front of an entirely different Draco Malfoy, bent double over his desk, but it was less than a day. That was enough to end the glowing feeling Scorpius had just felt at the memory of their reunion. He remembered spotting Delphi arrive in Godric’s Hollow, and he remembered the flashing lights of the battle, though the whole thing felt a bit like a dream.  
Not wanting to remember any more, he looked down at his clothes, which had now been on for several days, and felt like the green flashes had stained them, tainted them. He felt that way about himself too. He immediately felt the need to take a shower, and hurried to the bathroom, hoping in vain to wash away everything that was on his mind as easily as he could his tear stains.  
Emerging from the steamy ensuite, Scorpius looked around his room once more. It was obvious now that his dad had been up to check on him, which strangely reassured him. It all looked warming and familiar and was helping to ground him against the ever-present feeling that he was disassociating. Shaking off that unhelpful thought, he stepped over his discarded clothes from earlier and wandered over to run a hand over his mum’s wand box, grateful in the moment that his dad had let him have it in his room instead of on display in one of the living rooms. Sighing, because he’d never missed her more, he pushed those feelings down to concentrate on the fact that he should probably go down and speak to his dad. At the same time, a small rush of adrenaline settled somewhere in his stomach. He didn’t know where the conversation would take them – whether they’d become closer or only grow further apart – but he was going to have to face him eventually, and putting it off any longer wouldn’t do him any good.  
With a growing weight in his stomach he left the sanctuary of his room and walked down the corridor to seek out his dad. He expected him to be in his office, but Scorpius found his feet instead taking him to the kitchen where he’d had that horrible moment last night. _Get a grip on yourself_ , he thought firmly to himself, trying his best to summon as much of Malfoy the Unanxious as he could. Taking a deep breath, he turned and marched to where he knew his dad would be.  
The door to his dad’s office was open, Scorpius could see it down the hall. He didn’t let himself stall any longer and forced his body to keep moving. As Draco came into view, Scorpius knocked a couple of times, hesitating on the threshold.  
His dad was consumed in paperwork of some kind – he’d never seen him so lost in his work. There were documents strewn over the large desk, and crumpled up pieces of official-looking Ministry paper littered the floor in front of the fire. Draco’s brow was furrowed in concentration, and he looked more stressed than Scorpius had seen him recently. Another pang of guilt assaulted him as he took in the scene, but he didn’t have time to dwell on the feeling, as his dad looked up hastily at the sound of his knocking.  
Immediately the stress left his father’s face as he took him in.  
“Scorpius!” The relief that he was okay was obvious in Draco’s smile, but Scorpius also noted that his dad made no move to greet him, almost as if he didn’t know how to act around him anymore.  
Scorpius smiled nervously and looked down, following his dad’s lead and remaining in the doorway. “Hi dad”.  
“Are you alright?” That concern was back, and he got up to walk towards him. “Did you sleep okay?”  
“Yes dad, fine…” he trailed off awkwardly. He’d averted his eyes, but suddenly his dad was in front of him, and very hesitantly, pulled him into a hug. His large arms wrapped around Scorpius, and Scorpius slowly but surely sank into his dad, the last of his resolve ebbing away. It wasn’t the same kind of hug they’d shared in Godric’s Hollow. That was done out of sheer elated relief. This hug was different. It was filled with a nervous kind of love. His dad seemed worried he’d do something wrong, but by melting into his father, Scorpius knew he was giving his dad permission to do this. He knew they both understood they needed this right now.  
Before he was aware of it, a sob had escaped him, and his hands were clinging into the fabric of his dad’s robes. His dad simply responded by rubbing his back and murmuring comforting words that Scorpius couldn’t quite focus on. Eventually Scorpius realised he should say something. At a loss, he just choked out the most basic thing he needed to say.  
“I’m sorry dad…”  
“Shhh, it’s okay Scorpius…. You have nothing to apologise for.”  
“I’m sorry…”  
His dad hugged him tighter, with ferocity. “Shh,” he repeated, “I already told you, you’ve nothing to be sorry for.”  
His dad guided them to the sofa in front of the fireplace, making sure Scorpius was sat comfortably.  
“Do you want to talk about it?”  
Scorpius sniffed. He considered the question. Did he want to talk about it? He knew he needed to, he needed his dad to know how he was feeling, but he wasn’t sure he could do that just yet.  
He shook his head no, trying to arrange his features into an apologetic expression. “How long was I asleep?” he asked to change the topic.  
“Hmph, about 24 hours by now” his dad appraised him.  
“Wow” Scorpius half laughed – that was quite an achievement. Then he suddenly remembered his best friend and looked up to his dad with a new urgency. “Where’s Albus? Is he okay?”  
Draco smiled slowly. “I wondered how long it would take you to ask. You two are inseparable.” He sighed and continued, “I don’t know Scorpius, I’ve heard from Hermione, and some people from the Ministry came over to collect a statement, but none of the Potters have been in contact.”  
“I need to see him.” Scorpius didn’t immediately jump up and demand to be taken there, but he said it in a way so his father would understand that he was seeing Albus today whether he was on board or not.  
Luckily, Draco just smiled again and said, “I know”.  
Scorpius hugged his dad again, half out of happiness and excitement and half out of gratitude for his acceptance of the matter.  
“I missed you dad,” he whispered.  
They pulled away, and Draco’s face softened into a completely different expression.  
“You’ve been away for so long… that other you…” but Scorpius couldn’t finish. Instead he just shook his head.  
He was sure he heard his dad swallow, before he heard him continue.  
“I can’t begin to imagine, Scorpius. But that’s not me though, you understand that, right?”  
Scorpius nodded, of course he knew that.  
“We can go to see Albus, but I would ask however, that we leave in a little while. I need to make sense of this paperwork and I’m sure you’re starving.”  
At his father’s words, the hunger pains that had been gnawing away at Scorpius’s insides since what seemed like forever, flared up again painfully. “What’s the paperwork?” he asked, wondering what it could possibly be that his dad was so engrossed in.  
“Ah.” Immediately his dad stiffened. “It’s… well… it’s about the time tuner I kept.”  
“Oh.” Scorpius wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react.  
His dad continued hastily, “It’s from Hermione, she’s making sure I won’t be thrown in Azkaban for keeping hold of it.” He was clearly trying to reassure Scorpius, but it only had the opposite effect. He hadn’t even considered that his dad had broken the law – he hadn’t really had time to think about it, or the consequences.  
“Don’t worry,” Draco responded to the panicked expression on his son’s face. “It’s all going to be smoothed over, you don’t have to worry. Hermione’s assured me.”  
Okay, after a little thought, that seemed fair. But Scorpius still didn’t understand one thing.  
“Dad?”  
“Yes Scorpius?”  
Suddenly the room was too silent.  
“Why did you keep it?”  
He whispered the question, not sure he really even wanted to talk about this.  
His dad looked him straight in the eye before replying. “I kept it to protect _you_ , Scorpius.”  
“How on earth would that protect _me_ , dad? You were risking Azkaban! Explain, please, what would have happened to me then?”  
By the expression on his father’s face, this was difficult for him, and Scorpius almost felt guilty for politely and restrainedly asking for an answer.  
“When your mother fell ill, Scorpius, it was hard for us. She couldn’t leave the house for months after you were born, she was too weak. And she never fully recovered – you know how she’d relapse for weeks at a time. We shut ourselves away, we had to. And so, inevitably, people started to talk. They wondered what was really going on behind the scenes. This you know. So consider, if you would, what would have happened if I’d handed a time turner over to the Ministry out of the blue. A time turner that could go back years.”  
Scorpius’s shoulders slagged. He looked down. What his father was saying made sense.  
“Scorpius.” His dad was commanding him to look at him, and he tried. “You… You do…” his dad sighed, and for a brief moment it was his turn to break the eye contact. However, he turned purposefully to look at his son again, and Scorpius could practically feel the resolve emanating from his dad. “You do believe me, don’t you?”  
Scorpius couldn’t believe it. _That_ was what his dad was worried about? He laughed – a genuine, happy laugh, though it was only short.  
“Dad, I can’t believe you’re asking me that!”  
Draco looked confused, but happily so. “Well, it wouldn’t be so wrong for you to assume anything else. You’ve been brought up surrounded by these rumours for years, and now suddenly you find out something exists that could mean they’re true? I know how I’d feel.”  
“Dad,” Scorpius needed to be earnest now. “That was you and Grandfather. We are not the same as them. I trust you.”  
Draco was staring at him, and Scorpius felt the need to continue. Embarrassing as it was, he looked down. “When I saw you running towards me in Godric’s Hollow, it was the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.”  
Draco slowly reached out and put a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder. “Me too, Scorpius.”

* * *

A while later and Scorpius was sat in the kitchen, practically buzzing to leave and finally, _finally_ see Albus. His foot was bouncing nervously on the floor as he waited for his dad, who had owled the Potters earlier that morning in anticipation. At last his dad was ready and came in, eyeing Scorpius up as he waited eagerly.  
“You’ve hardly eaten anything,” Draco exclaimed disapprovingly.  
“I couldn’t dad, I’d just vomit it back up…”  
“Hmm, if this continues Scorpius, I’m taking you to St Mungo’s, I don’t want you developing an eating disorder.”  
“Can we _go_ now please?”  
“Wait, jacket,” Draco replied, throwing the jacket Scorpius had taken off last night across to him.  
Scorpius would have argued – especially because it was _that_ jacket – but the need to see Albus was overpowering, so he threw it on a little too enthusiastically.  
Something felt strange though. He could feel something long and hard poking out of the wand pocket. He froze.  
He knew what that was. Still frozen, he looked slowly from his jacket up to his dad, horror seeping through his face.  
“Dad.” He didn’t mean for his voice to come out as high-pitched as it did, but he couldn’t help it. He could see confusion and then comprehension dawning on his father’s face.  
“Scorpius…” his dad’s eyes were widened, probably in fear of how Scorpius was going to react.  
He couldn’t be still any longer. Reaching slowly into the wand pocket with abject horror, his hand closed around an unyielding elm wand, and he pulled out what was unmistakably the wand of Delphini Diggory.  
He stared at it in his hand for a moment, before throwing it violently to the ground across the room, where it lay so innocent looking under the table. Something was creeping up the back of Scorpius’s throat. He thought he might be sick. He turned away, away from the wand, away from his dad.  
“Why is that in my pocket?!”  
He couldn’t keep the desperation out of his voice, though he knew the answer. He didn’t want the thing near him. Not near him at all. It was the wand that killed Craig. It had probably shot a dozen killing curses in its lifetime.  
“Scorpius, I gave it to you, remember?” His dad hurried across to crouch in front of him.  
He covered his face with his hands. _It had been in his pocket all this time_. His breath started to catch and with a thrill of dread he realised there was something wrong with his lungs. They were surely collapsing – he couldn’t get any air in. Dimly, he was aware of his father’s voice near him, trying to calm him, but it was all he could do to try and just breathe. He couldn’t see or hear anything else – just try to focus on not dying. After what felt like a very long time, he realised his dad was trying to help him. Instead, he focused on what he was saying.  
“Breathe, Scorpius, just like me, listen… that’s it… and another one…”  
And as he listened to his dad and tried to time his breathing, slowly, _slowly_ he found himself returning to normal.  
“Sorry,” he gasped out eventually. He was still trembling. How long had they been there?  
“No need Scorpius.”  
He looked up at his dad. Draco’s eyes were fixed on his own, concern etched into every crease of his face.  
“I don’t know what that was!” he realised he was crying – or had been, at least.  
“It’s okay.”  
He was enveloped in another fatherly hug, and he thought to himself vaguely that they’d had more hugs today than they’d ever had in their lives put together. His heart lifted at the thought. Did they hug now? On a regular basis?  
Pulling away to lock eyes again with his father, the weight of what had just happened hit him, and he was surprised to identify a strong feeling of resentment towards his dad.  
He frowned, still feeling a little sick.  
“Why did you give me Delphi’s wand, dad?”  
Draco paused for a moment, clearly working out how to make his son understand.  
“You were in danger. We all were. Delphi had just been defeated, you may have needed to protect yourself.”  
“But it was _her wand?_ ”  
“I know, I’m so sorry… I didn’t think how it would affect you. And then today, I should have remembered you still had it and taken it away.”  
Scorpius shook his head, he reminded himself it wasn’t his dad’s fault.  
“Do you still want to go to Albus’s?”  
Scorpius didn’t even need to consider, and he knew his dad knew that, he was just asking because he was concerned.  
He took a deep breath. “Yes, let’s go.”  
And together, they walked to the fireplace, the father’s hand on his son’s shoulder providing an insurmountable level of comfort, and they spun together towards a warm welcome, a loving atmosphere, and all the space for healing in the world. 


End file.
